


Death and Hope

by TwilightKnight17



Series: Persona Kink Meme [11]
Category: Persona 3, Persona 5, Persona Series
Genre: Family, Gen, Implied Relationships, What-If, loose interpretations of mythology
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-20
Updated: 2018-09-20
Packaged: 2019-07-14 19:28:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 983
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16047029
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TwilightKnight17/pseuds/TwilightKnight17
Summary: No concept is wholly good or evil. In the aftermath of everything, Morgana meets someone who knows that very well.





	Death and Hope

**Author's Note:**

> I held off posting this for a bit, but it's good to go now. ^_^
> 
> Original prompt: https://personakinkmeme.dreamwidth.org/993.html?thread=756961
> 
> "Death and Hope: For some reason something I'd really want to see is some interaction between Morgana and Pharos. Maybe convincing Minato to go to bed? (even though he would probably be happy to nap with them) Or some kind of contrast between death and hope with Pharos trying to explain to the less mature Mona that you don't have to have one or the other?"

When Morgana becomes aware again, he isn’t alone.

He isn’t sure what he expected from becoming part of everything, but it isn’t this. He’s woken up in a vast expanse of stars, and a gangly teenager with dark hair and bright blue eyes is looking at him with a fond smile. Those eyes are the same color as his own, and as Morgana sits up, he realizes he’s no longer a cat.

“I’m--!” They’re all there: arms and legs and human features. He reaches to run his hands through his own hair, thick and messy and black atop his head like Akira's. The other boy is laughing now, and Morgana stares at him for a second before asking, “Who are you?”

“I’ve been called a lot of things,” the other boy says. He’s wearing an impractically long scarf in a vibrant shade of yellow that sticks out like a sore thumb in this place. “At my core, I am Death. I’ve also been called Thanatos. But...I think I would prefer to be called Ryoji. It’s nice to see you again, Hope.”

“Again?” Morgana questions. “And if I’m calling you Ryoji, you have to call me Morgana.”

“Morgana, then. I’m sorry,” Ryoji says quietly. “We as concepts know each other, but I don’t think you’ve quite remembered everything.”

Morgana isn’t sure what he’s supposed to be remembering. He’s more distracted by the fact that he’s apparently a small child in human terms, instead of a teenager like Ryoji or the Phantom Thieves. But something about this boy that claims to be Death is familiar, and Morgana doesn’t object when he gets closer, just says loudly, “If I don’t remember you, it’s because Death and Hope probably don’t go well together. Dying doesn’t give anybody hope.”

Ryoji just smiles. “That’s not true. Can I show you something?” He opens his arms in a clear offer, and while Morgana isn’t sure how he feels about being carried like a baby, he is tired after everything, and he lets Ryoji pick him up without complaint.

“Death is not devoid of hope,” Ryoji murmurs. He walks through the endless starry expanse, his hold on Morgana secure. Even knowing that the older boy is Death, Morgana finds that he feels safe being carried, and he buries his face into the soft fleece of the scarf as Ryoji continues, “You told them, didn’t you? That reality is based on what you see and feel. There are people who would view Hope as something cruel, for offering optimism where there might not be any. And for as many humans as there are, there are infinite perceptions of Death.”

When they stop, a massive door looms above them with the golden statue of a boy bound to the front, wrapped in chains and thorns. Morgana’s eyes widen, and he grips the scarf unconsciously. “Who...is that?”

“The most extraordinary human,” Ryoji says, in the same tone that Morgana used to hear Sojiro use when talking about Wakaba or the Thieves. There’s so much clear affection in it. “My dearest person. He gave his life to guard the world from an absolute ending, to give people the hope that things can get better. He is why you were awake enough to aid your friends.”

“He died...to give people hope?” Morgana says, looking up at the statue. There’s something overwhelming about it; a feeling that the boy is looking back down at him.

Ryoji nods, holding him just a little tighter. “There are few things in this world that are completely good or bad. Even when I thought that I was nothing but a monster, he showed me that I had worth to him. He showed me that I was more than the role that had been laid out for me. And in the end, I was happy to help him stop me from destroying the world we both had come to love.”

Morgana leans back into his shoulder. “...why did you come get me?” he asks. “Why are you showing me this?”

“It would have been cruel to let you wake up alone, when you don’t even know all of what you are,” Ryoji responds, ruffling his hair gently. “And you have a choice to make.”

“A choice?”

"Yes. You can stay, of course. You’re Hope; there is always a place for you here in meta-space. But your friends love you enough to allow you to return to reality as well, if that’s what you want.”

“I can go back?” Morgana almost jolts himself out of Ryoji’s arms in surprise as he pulls back to look at him. “I guess it makes sense, if they have enough cognition of me, I could still exist…”

“There’s one caveat,” Ryoji laughs, somehow managing not to drop him. “You’ll return as they remember you. So you can stay, and have a human form, or return…”

“And be a cat…” Morgana finishes. It’s...a surprisingly easy decision as the initial shock wears off, and he looks up at Ryoji determinedly. “I want to be with them. I want to stay with Akira. Even if I have to stay as a cat. I’m used to it.”

Ryoji beams at him and sets him gently on his feet, kneeling down to look him in the eyes. “Then think of them, and go back where you belong. With your friends.”

Morgana hesitates. “Could you go back too?”

“Oh…” Ryoji shakes his head, smile never fading. “My place is here, with my dearest. But I wish you all the best.”

Morgana returns the smile. “Thank you.” Screwing his eyes shut, he concentrates, feeling himself growing lighter as he focuses hard on his connection to reality.

Ryoji watches him go with a fond smile, lights glimmering around him as he fades from the metaverse. “Good luck, little brother,” he whispers. “Be happy with your friends. 

“Have everything that I couldn’t.”

**Author's Note:**

> In Greek mythology, Hope is also a Nyx kid, so... Eh. Why not? XD


End file.
